ABC7 WEATHER: Partly sunny with highs in the mid 60s and possible showers in the afternoon. http://wj.la/72e8x6

‘GOOD MORNING WASHINGTON’: Among the reports – Fire destroys house in Northeast; Update on the deadly tornadoes in the nation’s heartland; much more, beginning at 4:30 a.m. M-F.

NEW DAY: On a variety of fronts, per WJLA.com, Some five years after trouncing Terry McAuliffe in Virginia’s Democratic primary, Sen. Creigh Deeds will stand alongside now-Gov. McAuliffe today at a University of Virginia health center to mark an achievement for which both men lobbied fiercely – Senate Bill 260, which extends emergency custody of potentially mentally ill patients.

The law doubles to 12 hours the maximum amount of time patients in question may be held and helps ensure psychiatric beds are available for those who may need them. The bill was signed earlier this month at the dogged urging of Deeds, who was stabbed by his son, Austin, last November after being released from emergency custody. The younger Deeds then fatally shot himself.

Both Deeds and McAuliffe agree that while the new law satisfies some concerns, there’s considerably more work to be done in the area.

MEANWHILE: Of the business at hand, Of Medicaid expansion, per the Richmond Times-Dispatch, “If necessary, Senate Democrats pushing for the expansion of Medicaid are prepared to prolong resolution of a new, two-year state budget beyond June 30, the end of the fiscal year. “I am prepared to do whatever it takes to make sure we leave no Virginian behind when it comes to health care,” said Sen. A. Donald McEachin, D-Henrico, the chairman of the Senate Democratic Caucus.

“. . . The prospect of a budget without Medicaid expansion has given rise to speculation throughout the political world that McAuliffe would attempt to institute some form of expansion using his executive authority.” http://bit.ly/1ljL3DT

FIGHT TOWN?: Of fannies in the seats, per the Baltimore Sun, “In March 2011, the Ultimate Fighting Championship went to Seattle. Officials released 8,000 tickets for "UFC Fight Night: Nogueira vs. Davis," the city's first such event. They hoped to sell enough to fill out the lower bowl at KeyArena. It did not matter that the card was not pay-per-view-worthy. Ticket sales surpassed 14,000 the day before the fight. The total attendance figure (13,741) was almost 33 percent more than the previous Fight Night record (10,267). The $1.182 million gate was the first million-plus night for the series.

“(UFC president Dana) White brought up Seattle as a point of comparison early Sunday morning, after he had beamed in announcing a record night at Baltimore Arena. An unprecedented 13,485 had shown up for UFC 172, the city's first such event. Only The Rolling Stones, in the 53-year history of the venue, had drawn a bigger gate than the pay-per-view event's $2.3 million, White said.” http://bsun.md/1mQRxML

STUDENTS MARCH: For academic equality, per the Washington Post, “Hundreds of Montgomery County students marched more than a mile through Rockville on Sunday in a call to close the achievement gap that has left black and Hispanic students in the high-performing district trailing their white and Asian peers on measures of academic success.

“The spirited march, which started at the school system’s headquarters, ended at the pillared entrance to Montgomery County’s old district courthouse, where throngs of teenagers and their supporters spoke out about an academic divide that has persisted for years.” http://wapo.st/1nUPK71

STORMS GONE WILD: Just the facts, per the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, “Officials have confirmed at least eight deaths in Sunday's string of severe weather. The Faulkner County sheriff's office confirmed that four people died after storms swept through Faulkner County on Sunday.

“Emergency vehicles are on the scene, and damage has been reported in Vilonia. Pulaski County sheriff's office confirmed around 9:30 p.m. that three people are dead in western Pulaski County.” http://bit.ly/1lZoYZK

UKRAINE: The latest, per the New York Times, “As President Obama and his national security team struggle to increase pressure on Russia over its intervention in Ukraine, they have become entangled in a tense debate over how much emphasis to put on unity with European allies more reluctant to take stronger economic actions against Moscow.

“So far, Mr. Obama has opted to stick close to the Europeans to maintain an undivided front, even at the expense of more punishing sanctions and quicker responses to Kremlin provocations. But some inside and outside the administration argue that the United States should act unilaterally if necessary, on the assumption that the Europeans will ultimately follow.” http://nyti.ms/1mP9mcN

“Facing the first real crisis of his short tenure as NBA commissioner, Silver is under pressure to swiftly bring some sort of resolution to the scandal surrounding Clippers owner Donald Sterling and the racially charged comments he allegedly made in a recorded conversation, portions of which were released over the weekend by TMZ and Deadspin." http://apne.ws/1rDWdFA

MIDDLE EAST PEACE TALKS: Or not, per The Hill, “Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is rejecting the possibility of dealing with the new Palestinian unity government of Fatah and Hamas. “I will not as the prime minister of Israel negotiate with a government that is backed by the Hamas terror organization and is committed to our destruction,” Netanyahu said on CNN’s “State of the Union.” “We will not negotiate with a government backed by Hamas unless Hamas has changed its position, unless Hamas said, ‘Oh, I’m willing to recognize Israel,’” he added.

“Israel suspended peace talks with the Palestinians last week, after Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas announced a deal with Hamas, which the U.S. recognizes as a terrorist organization. That effectively killed Secretary of State John Kerry’s months-long efforts to get the two sides to get together.” http://bit.ly/1fIBclE

POLITICO PLAY: “House Majority Leader Eric Cantor is a rising star in national politics, but here at home, he’s at the center of a battle with fellow Republicans. His allies are maneuvering to pack leadership slots at the Republican Party of Virginia with like-minded figures — a move they hope will bring stability to a party with little money and lots of infighting.

“That’s infuriated some local conservatives, who feel they are being squeezed out of positions of power and aren’t going down without a fight. They are rallying behind insurgent primary challenger Dave Brat, an economics professor with just $40,000 in the bank — compared to Cantor’s $2 million.” http://politi.co/1m0eLRk

THE RANCHER GUY: One person’s take, per NYT columnist Maureen Dowd, “WHEN a cranky anarchist in a cowboy hat starts a sentence saying “I want to tell you one more thing I know about the Negro,” you can be dang sure it’s going downhill from there.

“The unsettling thing about Nevada rancher Cliven Bundy’s ugly rant on the Virgin River on Saturday, The Times’s Adam Nagourney told me, was that there was no negative reaction from the semicircle of gun-toting and conspiracy-minded supporters who had gathered round to hear it. The oblivious 67-year-old Bundy, who has refused for 20 years to pay for his cattle to graze on our land, offered a nostalgic ode to slavery.” http://nyti.ms/1llv7Bd

TURKEY TOONS: Or something like that, per City Paper, “Between the hazy donors and the eligibility fights, D.C. Council turkey giveaways haven't exactly covered the District government in glory. But could the free bird pickups also be hazardous to your health? A lawsuit filed by Marion Barry protege and former State Board of Education member Trayon White. . . suggests so, with White suing the city over some alleged Thanksgiving season police brutality.” http://bit.ly/RZAawM

DISTRICT 16: A vibrant revival, per Gazette.Net, “The growing candidate list for District 16’s 2014 delegate election has seen many faces, some new, some old. It has been seven years since Gareth E. Murray (D) was a delegate for District 20 from 2003-2007. However, he decided to return to a life of elected office, and in September, officially filed for candidacy in District 16’s delegate election.” http://bit.ly/1iroA8v

WHEN ALL ELSE FAILS: Steal a vehicle, per the Frederick News-Post, “Frederick police are looking for a man who broke into a National Park Service training facility on Sunday and stole a vehicle before abandoning it a short distance away. At about 11 a.m., a man gained entry into the fenced-in parking lot in the 100 block of Commerce Street and attempted to steal items from a storage shed and vehicles.

“After being confronted by someone at the center, the man left by stealing one of the vehicles and ramming through the locked gate. Police found the vehicle nearby, but not the suspect.” http://bit.ly/1nymvtc

WE HAVE A WINNER: Now for the main event, per the Loudoun Times-Mirror, “State Del. Barbara Comstock bested five challengers in Saturday's 10th Congressional District Republican nominating event. Unofficially, Comstock took more than 7,300 votes out of the 13,000 ballots cast. Her closest challenge came from state Del. Bob Marshall, who garnered more than 3,800 votes.

“Turnout was higher than expected, according to 10th Congressional District Republican Committee Chairman John Whitbeck. Comstock (R-34th) will face Democrat John Foust, a Fairfax County supervisor, in the general election. The winner of the general will be the Northern Virginia-based district's first new representative since 1981, the year veteran Congressman Frank Wolf first took office.” http://bit.ly/1pFZ1UT

TRENDING ON ABC7 FACEBOOK: “In response to owner Donald Sterling's purported comments urging a woman to not bring black people to his team's games, the Clippers let their uniforms become a show of solidarity. They hid their team logo during warm-ups Sunday. And during the game, players wore black wristbands or armbands and black socks with their normal jerseys. http://wj.la/1nxNFQN

NEWSTALK: Among today’s guests (10 a.m., NewsChannel 8) is D.C. DMV Director Lucinda Babers, who will be asked about the new drivers licenses District residents will need in the next couple years.